Press Review CW 5/2025: On our own behalf
Press Review 24 January 2025 to 31 January 2025

Symposium on the 140th anniversary of the Berlin Conference 1884/85: A reflection on the colonial history and future of African-European relations

 

A symposium was held in Berlin on 29-30 January 2025 to mark the 140th anniversary of the Berlin Conference of 1884/85, which laid the foundations for the colonial division of Africa but whose details are still little known in German politics and society today. Organised by Farafina Afrika-Haus e.V., the University of Dar es Salaam and the German Africa Foundation together with KfW Bankengruppe, the event attracted over 200 participants from politics, academia, business and civil society. Under the patronage of former Federal President Prof. Dr Horst Köhler and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the symposium emphasised the importance of coming to terms with colonial history and its impact on today’s African-European partnership.

The opening began with a speech by Dr Thomas Duve, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at the KfW Development Bank, and the reading of a draft speech by former German President Prof. Horst Köhler, in his absence. This emphasised that a serious reappraisal of the colonial past is needed if a new partnership with Africa is to have a chance. Europeans must show that they are willing and able to be more than “snooty teachers of values and morals.” Co-patron Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of the Republic of Liberia, also called on Africa and Europe to forge a new, genuine partnership: “This conference is historic, it is ambitious, and it is demanding from each of us in our […] own countries to look at what happend […] and to say to Africa: truly, we are partners, truly historically, we are tied together. Africa and Europe […], what we now need is to see ourselves united towards common goals.” These admonishing words were also echoed in the speech of the Togolese Foreign Minister, Prof. Robert Dussey. He stressed: “Africa expects more equality, respect, fairness and justice in its relations and partnerships with the rest of the world […] No, we no longer want to assert your interests against the interests of our countries, our continent and our peoples, we want to be dependable allies […]. No, we no longer want to be patronised. We want to remain ourselves, ourselves and ourselves with respect and dignity’.

The symposium focused on the historical significance and implications of the Berlin Conference of 1884/85 for current and future African-European relations. Contemporary issues such as the foreign policy reappraisal of Germany’s colonial past, the restitution of cultural assets, and the political and economic perspectives of a modern African-European partnership were addressed in various panels.

Prominent guests included Katja Keul, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, and Dr Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as numerous experts and other key players from politics, business, and academia. These included Prof. Joseph Diescho and Ruprecht Polenz, Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, Prof. Brigitte Reinwald and the African Union Youth Representative, Chido Mpemba. The discussions raised important questions about the restitution of cultural assets, Germany’s visa and migration policies, and Africa’s role in a changing global order.

Therefore, the symposium was dedicated not only to the question of recognising and coming to terms with the colonial past, but also to the prospects for deep and equitable cooperation between Africa and Europe, based on mutual respect and trust.

The symposium was a crucial step towards better understanding and increased cooperation between Africa and Europe. It helped to fill the gaps in knowledge about the Berlin Conference and to give new impetus to a partnership for the future.

 

 

Note: Podcast episode on the symposium commemorating the 140th anniversary of the Berlin Conference of 1884/85 at ‘La marche du monde’, rfi

As part of the symposium commemorating the 140th anniversary of the Berlin Conference of 1884/85, Radio France Internationale (rfi) produced a special episode of the podcast ‘La marche du monde’. Rfi reporter ValĂ©rie Nivelon spoke with Minister of State Katja Keul, Flower Manase, Curator of History at the National Museum of Tanzania, Flower Manase, and Oumar Diallo, Director of the Farafina Africa House in Berlin, about restitution and the return of cultural assets. Cheik Sakho, former Minister of Justice of the Republic of Guinea, and writer and philosopher Mohamed Turki also discuss the importance of Pan-Africanism.

The podcast episode will be broadcast on Saturday 2 February 2025 and will be available here from around 16:00hrs.

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